In their second match of the 2021 NISA Independent Cup, ASC San Diego hosted NISA league runner up LA Force at Mission Bay Stadium this past Wednesday July 21st. ASC played impressively, having honed the massive potential they showed in their previous match of the Cup’s first round of play. The win definitely keeps San Diego’s team in strong contention to see the next round.

ASC came out of the gates hot. With barely twelve seconds having ticked away, they had already created scoring opportunities for themselves. That pressure and level of play was kept up the entire match by the home side, allowing them to be the only scorers for the entire 90 minutes. Forward Elvis Mensah was able to complete that mission and opened his account in the 16th minute. Teammate Jon Krisjansson sent a cross over the middle that Mensah was able to beautifully turn and slot it past a completely stunned LA keeper, Kifi Cabrera.

The Force had plenty of first half chances of their own, including several set pieces that seemed like they should have been gimmies. But between ASC’s defense and keeper Nate Levy, LA wasn’t ever able to make it between the pipes. As the half wore on the away side seemed to play with more of a sense of urgency to get on the board. But their intensity translated into mistakes instead of goals, as they were shown yellow twice before the break without crossing the scoring threshold. The first half ended with San Diego leading LA 1 - 0.

The second half looked similar to the first, ASC hadn’t let up on their intense play and LA was still stumped as to why they couldn’t find their way into the net. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. In the 60th minute they converted a corner kick into 3 shots on goal. But ASC’s defense was in the mix which caused the Force to be unable to control their efforts and all shots were well off the mark. Not helping their cause was the fact that San Diego’s keeper Levy held a clinic last night. Diving saves, jumping saves, out of the boxt saves - he did it all and he made it look effortless. ASC was able to control the pitch for the rest of the match and the score after the final whistle showed the fruits of their labor with a 1 - 0 defeat over the LA Force.

ASC has one match left in this round of the Independent Cup. On Saturday July 24 they will meet Chula Vista for a 5 pm kickoff. With a win the team stands a good chance of topping the group and moving onto the next phase of play. This is going to be a match not to miss for soccer fans. Make sure to get your tickets now!

- MaryBeth Zmuda